Gurugram Police makes two more arrests in 'cheap gold coin' fraud case

The duo, allegedly associated with Solanki Prabhubhai, a Gujarat-based film producer and the kingpin of the gang, were lodged in Kota jail in Rajasthan in connection with a previous case and were arrested by Gurugram Police after being taken on production warrant, they added.

Two women, with suspected links with an interstate gang that allegedly defrauded a Gurugram exporter of Rs 2.49 crore in cash and 50 tolas of gold, have been arrested in this connection, police said on Wednesday. The duo, allegedly associated with Solanki Prabhubhai, a Gujarat-based film producer and the ''kingpin'' of the gang, were lodged in Kota jail in Rajasthan in connection with a previous case and were arrested by Gurugram Police after being taken on production warrant, they added. Police obtained two-day custody of the accused after they were produced in a city court on Wednesday, police said. According to police, the accused were identified as Teju Gangaram Rathore (45), a resident of Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh, and Solanki Shantiben (42), a resident of Vadodara district in Gujarat. Preliminary inquiry revealed both accused have criminal records, with Teju named in two fraud cases in Gujarat and one in Rajasthan, and Shanti Ben charged in one fraud case in Rajasthan. On April 15, Gurugram Police busted an interstate fraud network that allegedly lured people by promising cheap gold coins. Police had earlier arrested four other accused, including the alleged mastermind Solanki Prabhubhai, in this connection. More than Rs 2.30 crore in cash and around 678 grams of gold were recovered from their possession. Prabhubhai has allegedly been involved in fraudulent dealings for the past 25 years, with most of his shady activities based in Mumbai and Gujarat, police said. With the proceeds from these frauds, he allegedly purchased Hotel PM, located in Karjan-Lakodra on the Delhi-Mumbai road in Gujarat's Vadodara. Around 15 years ago, he defrauded Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi of Rs 25 lakh and Salman Khan's father Salim Khan of Rs 20 lakhs, a Gurugram Police spokesperson said. ''Six accused have been arrested so far in this case. We are questioning the female accused after taking them on police remand,'' he added.